Remember
by Sincerely-Vixen
Summary: Remember those who fought for us, who died for us, who will never get to see us and what a great country we've become. A story of a young soldier's struggles, and the sacrifices he made. InuXKag.


Remember

One-Shot

Vixen-Virus

Rating: M – Mature language and situations.

Genre: Tragedy/Angst.

Summary: Remember those who fought for us, who died for us, who will never get to see us and what a great country we've become. A story of a young soldier's struggles, and the sacrifices he made.

Dedication: To those of us who still appreciate all that has been sacrificed so that we can live in freedom and for those that died in the war. We will never forget.

* * *

_Remember_

**W**ar. Just a three letter word, but a word that affects us all. A word that inflicts pain on those who have felt its wrath. War is not a game, it is a sacrifice. A sacrifice of lives.

The stench of sweat and fear assaults my nostrils. The small gaps between the curved trenches erases 'personal space' from my vocabulary. I shake my head, trying to find some sanity in all this craziness. I bury my dirt-covered face in my blood-caked hands.

Only moments earlier we lost one of our men from blood loss. I shut my eyes, trying to erase the image of him screaming in pain, and the feel of his warm blood covering my hands as I tried to stop the bleeding where one of his limbs used to be, before the bomb hit.

My name is InuYasha Takahashi, and I am a soldier fighting in the World War. I am 19.

To me, War used to be just another word, a description of an event that had nothing to do with me. But now I understand. Now I know. I look up from between my palms. It's dark now, the shells flying overhead of us, loud bangs and screams drowning out my thoughts. Who can sleep with all of this going around us? I look over to my best friend and comrade, Miroku Houshi.

He is leaning back against the trench, his slightly tilted helmet hiding most of his face, his short black hair ruffled and covered in dirt. His face is set into a frown, his body tense and his camouflage shirt and pants stained with drying mud. I smirk a bit.

Only he could sleep through this.

Miroku is a great guy, don't get me wrong. He's intelligent, generous and he always calm even under the most terrifying of situations. He lost his mother and father in a car crash when he was young, so his only family is his uncle. He also has a girl back home, named Sango Yomoto. I've seen a few pictures of her; she's a pretty little thing.

I wonder if he'll make it back to see her.

I don't let that thought linger long before I look to the dark sky, still seeing stars. On such a beautiful night death cloaks us in its despair. Many of us have already died. I have never seen so many dead bodies piled on top of each other, but it's not a shock anymore. We have seen too much death for it to affect us any longer.

"Yasha, try to get some sleep." I looked to the voice and saw Koga, passing me a small cup of warm water. I nod my thanks and take the cup from him. He looks so tired. I know Koga Ookami from way back, almost as long as I had known Miroku. Koga was always my rival in everything, from sports to girls. He was always this vibrant, cocky, long-black-haired blue-eyed jock I always wanted to beat…but he was still a great guy.

Now looking at him, I can hardly recognize this man as Koga. We all had to shave our heads due to lice, a big problem in these cramped trenches, especially since we have to go days on end without showers, and now his black hair is just starting to grow back. His blue eyes don't burn with excitement and adventure anymore; they are just vacant…just staring. He no longer smiles.

I bite back a soft cry. Koga Ookami is gone, and left in his place is this robot. I can't bear to think of what will happen to him. When we entered the war, we were all excited for this, told it would be the start of the adventure of our lives, to fight and defend our country! To protect those we loved! We truly believed this.

But… it was all an illusion. They lied. War wasn't an adventure, defending your country wasn't worth all the tears and destruction and loss…the sacrifice was too much. And now here we are, forced to fight for our lives, forced to watch as men we trained with die before our very eyes. Every single day that we live through there's an updated body count of those who didn't make it. Every day that passes, we lose what little soul we have left. We are not the same.

This is life, this is fear, and this is war.

* * *

Fear. That's all there was. As we shot off our bullets, screamed out orders and ducked for cover, that was all that seemed evident. I remember when I was younger, and I thought that my biggest worry was passing math, lest my mom freak out…this wasn't the same. Now I feared for my life, feared that if I didn't make it out alive… my mom would be alone, my brother would have his best soldier dead and Kagome…

I shook my head. No time to think, only shoot. I could feel my heart bursting as I dodged another bullet. I ducked and ran through the twisting trench, jumping over the piles of dead bodies that littered the ground, like the swarms of rats also running over them. Blood spilled on the ground. Nothing but death.

I dashed past men shooting and yelling, aiming again I shot the enemy right in the head. I felt little as my bullet passed through his skull.

When had it all come down to this? I wondered as the body fell lifelessly to the ground. I watched in amazement as one of his comrades yelled out, tears in his eyes as he grabbed the dead body and held it, yelling out in despair.

That's when it really hit me.

These men were just like us. These men had family and girlfriends back home, waiting for their safe return. They had a life back home. They were probably on a path to great things before this war. They were lost, scared and confused. How could I kill another man, with this knowledge? I heard the bullet before I saw it. Right into the other comrade's head. He fell down dead, holding his friend to him.

That could have been me.

I shut my eyes.

How could I continue?

* * *

I smiled gently as I read over the letter again. We had just gotten mail from back home. My mom's slanted, neat handwriting scrawled over the white paper, telling of how much she missed me.

_"Dear InuYasha,_

_It's mom! I just heard from Sesshomaru, he says you're doing well, still his best soldier and of course, annoying brother. You make sure not to make it too hard for him! He has to lead the whole unit!_

_I love you InuYasha…I miss you dearly. I want you to know how much I love you. I need you to come home safe, baby._

_No matter what happens out there, I'm so proud of you, I love you always and I hope you know that._

_Mom."_

I wiped my eyes. Mom was always so amazing. I gripped the paper tightly in my hand. I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to be with my mom, to be yelled at for forgetting to use a cup instead of drinking straight from the carton, or being hit in the back of the head for coming home late because I didn't want to leave Kagome._  
_  
_Kagome…  
_  
I quickly looked to the last letter, joy filling my heart and sending a smile to my lips as I tore the envelope open. I pulled the white paper out and unfolded it quickly, my eyes scanning the words written in careful purple ink.

_"Hey Yasha._

_I love you._

_That's what I need to start with. I've been sitting in my room for almost an hour trying to start this letter, and I don't know what to say. I love you, seemed like a good start. I miss you. I want you back home. I want you to come back so we can go to a movie, only to have you complain about how much you hate romantic comedies, and for me to just ignore you. I want you home so I can hold you. I want to kiss you…_

_InuYasha I miss you. Please come home safely. Please…I love you._

_Love always and forever,_

_Kagome Higurashi."  
_  
Tears fell from my eyes as I read the words again and again, committing them to memory. I buried my face in my hands, the fingers of one still clenching the letter as I began to whimper quietly into the night.

Kagome had been my girlfriend for nearly two years before I was recruited for the war. She was my best friend and the love of my life. It was hard going off to war, knowing she wouldn't be by my side. I shut my eyes tightly as tears slid down my face, and a soft sob escaped me.

I just wanted to go home.

* * *

Kagome:

I could hear sobs escaping most of the girls at the shrine. Many were praying for the safe return of their loved ones. The war was far from over, though, this I knew. I continued idly sweeping the shrine grounds, closing my eyes and gripping the broom tightly.

I watched as mothers, aunts, grandmothers, daughters, sisters and nieces cried as they prayed, asking for hope and faith. I felt my own tears fall as I thought of my love. The broom fell from my hands as my knees hit the ground.

I just wanted him to come home.

* * *

_"Kagome, hurry the heck up. This movie is going to suck; we might as well get it over with!" I smiled and shook my head, pulling my black waist-long hair up into a ponytail and running over to InuYasha, who was leaning against the door. I jumped up and ran to him immediately; he caught me effortlessly, as always._

_"Shut it!" I giggled and kissed his lips softly, running my hands through his long silver hair. He chuckled and held me close, kissing me back. I stared into his golden eyes, kissing him once again before whispering,_

_"I love you, InuYasha." He smiled softly at me, holding my hand, kissing my temple lovingly._

_"I love you too, Kagome."  
_

InuYasha:

I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe any of it. I saw Miroku running across the field, trying to tell our general what Sesshomaru had said moments earlier on the radio. I saw him smiling and waving his hand in the air, trying to get our General's attention and then…just like that…a gun shot sounded.

"GO!" I heard Koga beside me as he shoved me forward and I ran. Fast. I heard Koga's gun go off a million miles a minute and saw the concealed enemy fall as I ran to Miroku. I held his body to mine as I pulled him with me, crawling into the dark and cramped trench just a few feet away. I laid him down to the ground within the dugout, men around us getting ready to shoot the surprise assailants down.

"Miroku! Miroku! You can't die! Fuck… you can't!" I felt tears blurring my vision as Miroku laughed lightly, blood spewing forth from his pale lips. His royal blue eyes didn't seem as bright as they used to, I noticed. I held his body to mine, yelling for help. Koga immediately ran to the first aid. I looked back down, seeing tears flow passed Miroku's eyes and leave a clean trail along his dirt-smeared face.

"Please…don't' die…" I remembered the days when Miroku and I would train together, when we would go out to dinners together, when we hung out together, when we would fight…_together_. Now, without him, I would be alone. _Together _wouldn't exist, it would be only a vague memory.

"Hey…don't cry, Yasha. You know I won't be gone that easily…" His soft laugh quickly dissolved in a fit of coughing. "You'll be okay…" I shook my head and hugged him to me, my hands covering up the bullet hole in his side, begging it to stop flowing.

"Yash…promise me something…." His voice was barely audible past the bombshells flying overhead, the frantic shouts and the gunfire.

"Anything."

"…Tell Sango…I love her…and you…make sure you go home alive…you hear?" I couldn't think anymore, all I could do was cry as I heard my best friend take in one last breath. Then the only sounds were Koga's footsteps slowing to a halt as he watched Miroku die within my arms, the bombshells and gun fire in the background and my scream to the heavens.

* * *

Kagome:

"Sango…I'm so sorry." I whispered as Sango showed up at my door in the early morning light. She looked so drained. Her chestnut brown eyes were dull and lifeless, her dark brown hair limply hanging from her shoulders. She looked up at the sound of my voice, and then she dashed into my open arms, crying Miroku's name, again and again.

* * *

InuYasha:

_"InuYasha…come home."_

I read the small writing on the bottom of the picture. Kagome was smiling back brightly, her hands forming a small heart. I tucked the picture into my pocket and reached for my rifle. This was the end. I felt it in my bones. This would be the day this war ended. This would be the day I would go home. Our General stared at us, his old grey-blue eyes so worn out from all he'd seen.

"Today, my men…is the day we go home." His words elicited a unanimous cheer from the soldiers standing before him. Today was the day.

At least that's what I told myself.

* * *

Guns raised, target sought for, hearts beating, palms sweating. We just had to hold off a little longer. I could feel the thin picture in my pocket, over my heart. I saw Koga take his place beside me.

This was for our country, a country in a war that took more lives than it was worth. This was for the people back home, people most of which we would never see. This was for our pride, pride that was 'worth' killing thousands of people over.

This was for _nothing._

I aimed my gun once more, heard the voice of our general and again, the ear-blasting guns went off.

I had to stay alive, for my brother, my mom, my dad, my family…my Kagome.

It happened so fast. I didn't have time to think as a stray bullet slammed into my chest.

* * *

I lay on the ground, hands desperately pressed against the hole in my chest as the men above cheer. The war is now over. We are free to go home. I laugh and look to the sky. I'll make it, won't I? I will! I have to! I promised Miroku! I promised my family and I promised Kagome…

I reach into my pocket, pulling out the beautiful picture of the woman I love and kissing it softly, my bloody fingerprints smearing the sides. I look into her blue eyes, shining so brightly.

"I love you." My voice is drowned out by the cheers of the men behind me, the last round of gunshots echoing in the barren lands and the wind.

* * *

Koga Ookami, InuYasha's comrade and friend from high school, came back safe and sound, though for months after he suffered from shellshock, a common disorder where many soldiers had almost lost their sanity due to tragic and traumatic happenings in the war. Shellshock, a term coined from the bombshells that flew overhead, day and night, while they were in the war.

He recovered nicely, though he still has nightmares from time to time. Because of his disorder, Ayame Nakamura, his girlfriend, left him. He eventually fought his way back to sanity and he and Ayame are happily married.

Sango Yomoto, Miroku's girlfriend, killed herself two months after the war, after Miroku's body was brought back home to lie peacefully in the memorial graves. She hung herself in her attic, a picture of her and Miroku tucked safely into her pocket.

Sesshomaru Takahashi, InuYasha's older brother, successfully finished the war. He was able to return to Japan only days after. He married a woman named Kagura Hamada only to divorce four years later, due to his work. He never remarried.

InuYasha Takahashi…

InuYasha Takahashi died, moments after the end of the war was officially declared. The stray bullet hit too close to his heart to be retracted and he bled to death hours later. He held in his hand a photo of his girlfriend, Kagome Higurashi.

Kagome Higurashi's whereabouts are, even to this day, unknown. The last anyone saw of her was after the news of InuYasha's death was relayed to his family and friends.

InuYasha was a soldier lost in a world of war. He fought to defend his country, to fight for freedom and to protect those he loved. His body was never found amongst the faceless corpses of the soldiers who lost their lives.

His plaque still hangs proudly in the memorial of Nagasaki, only one in the ocean of thousands of others hanging there, right beside Miroku Houshi's.

He never made it back home.

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A/N: I don't know why I wrote this. Remembrance has never been a big event for me, but lately I really understand how horrible the war really was. I now understand why we remember, why we hold that moment of silence.

So this is to those who fought for us, to those who died for us, to those who will never be able to see us. We thank you for your sacrifice and just know:

We will never forget, only remember.

Take care,

And take the time to hold a moment of silence for those who died.

Vixen


End file.
